Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled Monday a route for a proposed west-east oil pipeline. The two premiers say it would stretch 3,300 kilometres from Hardisty, Alta., to refineries in Sarnia, Ont., without crossing the U.S. border. They made the announcement at the Calgary Stampede after the two leaders were up bright and early flipping pancakes...
A Republican lawmaker in Washington is firing back at Canadian provinces for retaliating against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs by banning the sale of U.S. alcohol. Claudia Tenney, a member of the House of Representatives whose district includes parts of northern New York, has introduced a bill aimed at punishing Canada over restrictions on U.S. alcohol imports imposed by eight...
The Canadian government has selected Germany’s TKMS to build a fleet of submarines for this country, two sources say. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Prime Minister Mark Carney will announce the government’s decision in Halifax Monday — the outcome of a high-stakes competition between Germany...
With Alberta’s referendum only a couple of months away, and the expected presence of about 40 frontbench Liberals and government caucus members at this year’s Calgary Stampede, some senior Alberta Conservatives say the Liberals are using the annual event to begin laying the groundwork for gains in the province for the next federal election. Several Alberta political players say that...
Thousands of federal public servants are starting a new work schedule Monday that will see them on-site in the office four days a week, though a lack of office space is delaying the return for some departments. The Treasury Board announced the change to remote work rules in February. Executive public servants returned to the office full-time in May. Jeffrey...
The latest Weekly Federal Tracker from Liaison Strategies shows the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, holding a 9-point lead over Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives. Among decided and leaning voters, the Liberals stand at 43%, followed by the Conservatives at 34%, the NDP at 14%, the Bloc Québécois at 6%, the Green Party at 2%, and the People's Party...
About 100 days after Avi Lewis was elected leader of the federal New Democratic Party on March 29 the party remains in a familiar place: liked by a relatively small core of voters, but still struggling to broaden its appeal in a political environment dominated by the Liberals and Conservatives.
Donald Trump has often been described as unpredictable. And that’s true — but when he chose not to renew the CUSMA trade deal, no one could claim to be surprised. The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement could have been renewed by all three parties on its existing terms for an additional 16 years. Having announced this week that it would not be...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is proving that politics at its most important is a big-picture game. Which is to say, it isn’t only about the price of gas, the cost of housing, and the dozens of other kitchen-table issues that normally dominate the public debate.
Astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who made a historic trip around the moon aboard NASA’s Artemis 2 mission earlier this year, is leaving the Canadian Space Agency. The agency says Hansen has announced he will pursue “new professional opportunities” as of September. He will continue to serve as a reservist with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
A federal union says it will add millions of dollars to its strike fund ahead of what it expects to be "challenging" contract talks this fall. The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is set to negotiate new contracts for close to 50,000 members later this year and says topping up its strike fund sends a message that...
Mark Carney keeps saying he’s running a new government, not just a sequel to the Justin Trudeau years. This week, Canadians may finally have to admit he’s right. As the door opens to a new Alberta pipeline, Carney closed the door on the Trudeau era.
Let’s thank U.S. President Donald Trump for one thing. As Ottawa launches a national competition to restore 24 Sussex Drive, the White House renovations are a lesson in what not to do. A master class, really. Trump is building to glorify himself. The “goldening” of the Oval Office, the transformation of the Rose Garden into a Mar-a-Lago-style patio designed to...
British Columbia Premier David Eby, had, in U.S. President Donald Trump’s words, “no cards” to play during contentious pipeline talks, but he walked away this week with a winning hand, leaving Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith with successes to boast of, but with major political wounds, too. When Carney and Smith signed a memorandum of understanding...
Enlightened Americans will watch in horror today as Donald Trump presides over a grotesque national birthday celebration, recoiling at the president’s kingly indulgences, seeing them as affronts to the memory of the noble patriots who established their republic 250 years ago.
When Canada signed the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States in 2002, the bargain rested on one assumption: that the U.S. offers a fair, humane process to people fleeing persecution. That assumption is no longer true, and this week the U.S. Supreme Court made it official. In two rulings on June 25, the Court sided with the Trump...
One of the perverse joys of politics is when an elected official looks you in the eye and tells you that the thing going on directly in front of your face is not happening. This happened twice during Mark Carney’s Oprah giveaway day on Thursday: You get a port! And you get a tunnel! And everybody gets a pipeline, whether...
Canada’s national holiday and America’s fall within a few days of each other, yet celebrate two very different things. Each celebrates their respective country’s birth, of course, but they define this in different ways. The American commemorates a breach, an abrupt and indeed violent rupture with the imperial power; the Canadian, the date scheduled for its inception as a federal...
Prime Minister Mark Carney deserves credit for doing the thing that prime ministers before him have been too pusillanimous to do for decades. While it shouldn’t be politically risky, really, to spend some money to refurbish the official residence of the Prime Minister ‐ which has been inhabited only by mice and insects for the last 10 years – this...
Mark Carney makes $17 billion in infrastructure pledges to B.C. on same day door opens to pipeline from Alberta to tidewater
Right after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith rolls out her pipeline plans to the country Thursday night she heads off to the Cowboys Music Festival. As the premier makes her way to Cowboys she sounds very happy. She is not claiming victory when the goal line is still down the field. But she and her government have clearly moved the yardsticks...
On July 6th and 7th, NATO leaders will gather at the presidential palace in Ankara for their annual summit. As at every heads-of-government meeting at which the United States is present these days, all eyes will be on Donald Trump. Will he berate his fellow leaders for refusing to support the United States in its Iranian misadventure? Will he announce...
In a recent appearance at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance opened up about his admiration for the disgraced former Republican leader. In particular, Mr. Vance wanted to express his outrage over the fate Mr. Nixon met for his involvement in the Watergate scandal that ultimately forced his resignation as president in 1974. “If Watergate...
Israel’s right to defend itself “does not grant us the right to oppress others,” the Israeli newspaper Haaretz once warned in an editorial. Seizing new land requires ruling that land, and rule without representation brings resistance. In turn, it continued, “resistance brings in its wake oppression. Oppression brings in its wake terrorism and counterterrorism.”
When the Alberta government announced the makeup of what was to be an impartial panel examining the economic cost of independence, a couple of the names raised eyebrows. Ted Morton would be taking part. The former provincial finance minister was a signatory to the infamous “firewall letter” that was published in 2001 and called for greater Alberta autonomy in Canada...
Mark Carney has only himself to blame, for the controversy that erupted last week when he announced a half-baked plan to buy up vacant condominiums. But the blowback, as strong as any he’s faced since becoming prime minister, may ultimately prove a blessing in disguise both for him and for the country
For all the ills former prime minister Justin Trudeau left his successor to face, the defence file has been a surprising bright spot. What makes this all the more remarkable is the fact that just 30 months ago, the then-head of the Royal Canadian Navy took to YouTube to declare that his team and equipment were in a “critical state.”...
The Prime Minister has been telling a gleaming story about Canada, but is avoiding the dark clouds gathering ahead
Mark Carney’s newest video, released just in time for Canada Day, is a sober affair, giving the nation some hard truths as a 159th birthday present. The climate plans of Justin Trudeau’s years have to be ratcheted back; the world is a dangerous place and trust is a rarer commodity in that world than oil.
How far will Canada’s prime ministers go to avoid headlines with a multimillion-dollar figure attached to the words “24 Sussex Drive”? Embarrassingly far.
It’s been nearly 160 years, and we’ve yet to fully figure out what it means to be Canadian. Just flip back through the archives of this paper and you’ll find a history of hand-wringing about that fact. The constant pull from south of the border, a Star editorial argued in 1976, “requires an answer to reinforce Canada’s will for cultural...
Canada Day is my favourite holiday of the year. I’m serious. Ask my wife. We’ve debated Christmas versus Canada Day many times and I’m holding firm. It isn’t because I was minister of Canadian Heritage at one point and it seems obligatory or because I’m a sappy nationalist. It is because I genuinely love Canada and I love that we...
In my column last week, I focused on why I love Quebec, as well as assessing some of its flaws. I quoted former Quebec premier Jean Lesage, who described his attachment to his homeland and his country as “Le Québec, ma patrie—le Canada, mon pays.” This week, for Canada Day, I thought I would articulate the strengths and weaknesses of...
The race to become the next leader of the Ontario Liberal Party is narrowing, as one contestant has decided to bow out. Rob Cerjanec, who represents Ajax for the party in the legislature, says he has made the difficult decision to suspend his campaign after speaking with family, supporters and colleagues. His caucus colleague Lee Fairclough, who represents Etobicoke-
Gordie Howe bridge, fighter jets part of Independence Day remarks with political message. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra's speech at his Fourth of July party in Ottawa included a political nudge aimed at Canada, with American F-35 fighter jets flying over the crowd and a comment about some provinces' bans on American booze. Hoekstra set a goal on stage...
Manitoba sets aside $1 million a year to spend on its U.S. trade office — $200,000 more than the NDP government previously disclosed, according to documents obtained by CBC News. The province has allocated $1 million Cdn to cover the annual cost of salaries, office space and other expenses for Washington, D.C., trade envoy Richard Madan and his administrative assistant...
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says the Trump administration has not met with Alberta separatists, nor discussed any potential financial support for an independent Alberta, directly contradicting claims made by prominent separatists. “No, we’re not meeting with the separatists and strategizing this at all,” Hoekstra told Global News.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is jetting off Monday to the two-day NATO summit in Turkey's capital city Ankara, where world leaders will seek to avoid diplomatic friction with U.S. President Donald Trump. Massive hikes to military budgets are expected to feature prominently as NATO members remain under heavy U.S. pressure to spend much more on defence. But in the background...
Betrayed. Dehumanized. Devastated.? These are the words some Canadians use to describe how they feel about a special government committee recommending not to expand medical assistance in dying to people seeking the procedure for a mental illness. On June 17, the recommendation was released, stating that there was a lack of consensus on whether it was possible to determine if...
Days after the Trump administration decided to require annual reviews of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement instead of renewing it in its current form until 2042, the Canadian government says significant uncertainty remains over the next steps in trade negotiations. "We don't have any more predictability about the annual review process because this is somewhat uncharted territory. It's not typical for...
Hundreds of people clad in western wear gathered at Heritage Park for the annual Conservative Party Barbecue Saturday evening, headlined by a speech from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to leave for Ankara on Monday to attend the annual NATO summit -- the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey since 2015. Turkey's capital will make up the first leg of Carney's week-long sojourn to the Middle East, which will conclude with a short stay in Saudi Arabia aimed at deepening...
Auditor General Karen Hogan won’t be conducting an audit into the circumstances of the terminated PrescribeIT program or into the financial practices of Canada Health Infoway, which spent nearly $300-million on the technology. Her office told The Hill Times that Health Minister Marjorie Michel did not ask them to investigate, and that conducting a review would duplicate work that’s expected...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to announce a decision on procuring a new submarine fleet for the Royal Canadian Navy Monday in Halifax, multiple industry and government sources confirmed to CTV News. Carney is expected to make the announcement in Halifax, before departing for a NATO meeting in Türkiye. Two companies, German-Norwegian consortium ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and South...
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra is denying that donations from the family that owns the Ambassador Bridge are behind the delayed opening of the new Gordie Howe Bridge. “Absolutely not,” Hoekstra said when asked by Global News whether the delay was tied to a US$1-million donation from billionaire Matthew Moroun — whose family owns the competing Ambassador Bridge —...
Throughout the negotiations last fall and earlier this year between Ottawa and the provincial governments in Alberta and British Columbia, Prime Minister Carney has been guided by a series of internal government polls that showed a significant majority of Canadians were broadly in favour of his plan to push a new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast, according to documents...
'Highly ill-advised' card comes amid tension over military procurement. Amid the ongoing review of Canada's fighter jet procurement, a federal public servant has been rebuked for distributing a custom-made business card featuring two Lockheed Martin F-35s at a recent military trade show. According to federal guidelines, all government business cards must follow a standardized template, with a Canadian flag as...
The Trump administration is hindering work at the United Nations on advancing equality, says Canada's UN Ambassador David Lametti. "There has been a general obstructionist policy, (a) cantankerous policy with respect to women's rights, a woman's right to choose, with respect to LGBTQ+ rights (and) gender equality," Lametti told The Canadian Press when asked to describe American actions at the...
The Royal Canadian Air Force and the U.S. air force will appear together in the skies over Ottawa today to mark the Fourth of July. Americans are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence today. Revellers gathered at the official residence of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra fo
Canada footing the bill for the bridge 'is the big myth that is out there,' Hoekstra said. Pete Hoekstra’s claim that Canada paying to construct the Gordie Howe International Bridge is a “big myth” has been branded “a punch in the face” by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s director of communications. Article content Andrew MacDougall, who held the role when...
Former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Stephen Harper, a Liberal and Conservative, will unite to help raise money to renovate 24 Sussex Drive, says the foundation working to solicit donations for the official residence of Canada’s prime ministers. The Rideau Hall Foundation says the pair were critical to moving the project forward ahead of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement last...
Mark Carney’s wave of summer spending Thursday included numerous billion-dollar references to new projects in British Columbia and Alberta, but economists are questioning the lack of detail as to where the money will come from. In his typical rhetorical style, the Prime Minister made several references to “catalytic” investments that will attract more than $200-billion in private capital.
Alberta’s latest attempt to get a new oil pipeline approved has both the federal and provincial governments promising heavy public investment to move heavy crude oil, all in search of heavy economic benefits. And despite a price tag that may only begin at more than $35 billion, government money may be both a worthwhile and necessary investment, say economists and...
The finance minister’s office is refusing to release data to back up recent claims by Prime Minister Mark Carney that Canada will substantially accelerate its defence spending. “Our fiscal framework has already provisioned to achieve four per cent of GDP in total defence spending by the end of this decade, ahead of NATO’s timetable,” Carney told the CANSEC Defence conference...
Ex-environment minister says climate change not a priority for the government. Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says a second pipeline to the West Coast will be money well-spent for the federal government but can't say how much Ottawa would be on the hook for. "I am quite comfortable that this is a good investment for Canadian taxpayers," Hodgson said in an...
CALGARY -- The Calgary Stampede parade turned into a pseudo-referendum on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Friday, as she heard both cheers and jeers while riding shotgun on a wagon clip-clopping through the city's sun-baked downtown.
Former environment and climate change minister Steven Guilbeault is pushing back on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assessment that a new pipeline will be profitable for all Canadians. “I respectfully disagree with the prime minister,” Guilbeault said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday. “Yes, there is money coming from the TMX pipeline, but for this to be profitable...
Former Conservative member of the British Columbia legislature Amelia Boultbee, who left the caucus to sit as an Independent, is now a member of the governing New Democrats. Boultbee, who won her seat as a B.C. Conservative by narrowly edging out an NDP opponent by a few hundred votes, told a joint news conference with Premier David Eby on Friday...
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Thursday that her government has a route - and builders - for a new pipeline to the B.C. coast, just hours after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a deal with B.C. to make it possible. Smith and Carney stood together in Calgary to announce that Alberta has formally submitted a proposed route to Ottawa's major...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet next week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, but federal officials would not say whether the prime minister plans to raise human rights concerns during the visit. At a background briefing ahead of the trip, officials would only point to Carney’s past comments on the issue. “The Prime...
Alberta's Opposition NDP leader says Premier Danielle Smith's plan for a new pipeline has his support, but he's calling on her to be honest about how much taxpayers could be on the hook for.
OTTAWA -- The federal government is exploring possible guardrails or alternatives to using what she says is a "contentious" section of the Labour Code that allows Ottawa to intervene in bitter bargaining conflicts, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said this week.
EDMONTON -- Elections Alberta says a petition calling for a ban on new coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, spearheaded by musician and activist Corb Lund, has failed.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Staff for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell said last week that the senator is "continuing his recovery" in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader's condition during his weekslong hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Monday that he's building a granite helipad on the White House lawn, insisting that the landing area is needed to accommodate new, more powerful presidential choppers.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card issued against the United States' star forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup but said he did not demand an outcome.
The Belgian soccer federation is demanding an explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game. President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game and asked FIFA to review the red card, according to a person familiar with the call...
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to leave for Ankara on Monday to attend the annual NATO summit -- the first visit by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey since 2015. Turkey's capital will make up the first leg of Carney's week-long sojourn to the Middle East, which will conclude with a short stay in Saudi Arabia aimed at deepening...
The Trump administration is hindering work at the United Nations on advancing equality, says Canada's UN Ambassador David Lametti. "There has been a general obstructionist policy, (a) cantankerous policy with respect to women's rights, a woman's right to choose, with respect to LGBTQ+ rights (and) gender equality," Lametti told The Canadian Press when asked to describe American actions at the...
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet next week with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, but federal officials would not say whether the prime minister plans to raise human rights concerns during the visit. At a background briefing ahead of the trip, officials would only point to Carney’s past comments on the issue. “The Prime...
A Cuban Canadian advocacy group is calling on the federal government to enable businesses to conduct work with Cuba as the island struggles under a renewed blockade from the United States. In a statement on its website, the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) said the UN General Assembly has “overwhelmingly” has condemned the U.S. and its actions against the Caribbean...
Prime Minister Mark Carney's vision of middle powers working with less traditional partners outside the superpower club is already taking shape at the United Nations, says Canada's ambassador. "We have set up a number of different kinds of relationships that work for specific issues," said David Lametti, Canada's ambassador to the UN. "And that's precisely the manner in which I...
For more than 75 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has existed to do one thing: keep its members secure while anchoring them in democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law (The North Atlantic Treaty 1949, preamble). Canada, as a founding member, plays a critical role in promoting these principles. The Canadian government frames its objective as ensuring...
China’s BYD has emerged as one of the most consequential companies in the global automotive transition. Once known primarily as a battery producer, it is now the world’s largest seller of battery-electric vehicles and a major producer of plug-in hybrids, batteries, and energy-storage systems. BYD’s combination of low-cost vehicles, technological innovation, and control over much of its supply chain has...
For Canada and its allies and partners, the main response to Russian claims of Arctic dominance is to see through their own icebreaker and Arctic economic development plans.
A collection of SubStack publishing within Canadian public affairs.
In 1995 the Canadian economy was not exactly humming along – it still hadn’t got its mojo back after the severe 1990-92 recession. The unemployment rate was 9.5%, GDP per capita had only just made it back to the level of 1989, and steep spending cuts in Paul Martin’s February budget signaled more contraction.
The name tags that RCMP officers are required to wear for identification no longer have to display their actual names, a move intended to protect them from digital bad actors. In a significant amendment to the Mounties’ Uniform Dress Manual, regular members now can choose to display only their regimental numbers rather than their names.
Today’s Roundtable discussion began with an email from former Bank of Canada governor and deputy minister of finance David Dodge to fellow Sage contributors. David posed this question and observation: “Can Canada still afford the welfare state we built in the 1960s when domestic productivity, labour force growth and investment were high and the global economic conditions were favourable? In...
Aaron Wherry, senior writer at CBC's parliamentary bureau and good friend of the show, is here to parse through last week’s big pipeline announcement with Alberta and the deal that Prime Minister Carney made with B.C. to get it all done.
On its July 1st deadline, U.S. President Trump declined to renew the current conditions of CUSMA. It doesn't mean Canada-US-Mexico trade as we know it dissolves, but it signals a need for trade diversification and an investment in Canada's sovereignty by the new 2036 deadline.
Alberta has formally proposed a pipeline to the southwest coast of British Columbia, in partnership with the federal government and a private company. The Globe and Mail’s Stephanie Levitz and CBC’s Anis Heydari join guest host Kate McKenna to discuss pipeline politics, the CUSMA deadline that came and went, and (of course!) Canada joining the Eurovision Song Contest.
As NATO leaders gather for their annual summit, attention will be on defence production and procurement as a unifying theme. The North Atlantic alliance is managing not just Donald Trump’s erraticism but also massive changes in the nature of warfare as well as the enormous economic impacts on members of conflict far from its borders.
